Franchione's tenure at Texas A&M marked by mediocrity

On a stationary trackAs Dennis Franchione enters what is likely his final home game as Aggies coach, the program is in no better shape than when he took over nearly five years ago

TERRANCE HARRIS, Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

Published
6:30 am CST, Friday, November 23, 2007

COLLEGE STATION — At some point this afternoon at Kyle Field, Texas A&M coach Dennis Franchione likely will take a deep breath and exhale as he reflects on his five seasons at the Aggies' helm.

It's been a ride the coach once labeled the "Builder of Programs" could not have imagined. And it appears that often rocky ride will be over with the conclusion of today's 114th installment of the Texas-Texas A&M football rivalry.

Franchione and the Aggies are expected to part ways after five seasons defined by missteps, few signature wins and continued mediocrity in the Big 12 South.

The school and athletic director Bill Byrne have said nothing of their coach's future since publicly admonishing him last month for the distribution of a secret email newsletter. Franchione also has had little to say about his status.

"I get here early, and I spend all my time working on the game plan with the coaches," Franchione said recently. "I go to practice and spend my time with the team, and I eat dinner and watch the practice tape and work very hard.

"Other than my personal family, that's my entire focus and has been for some time and certainly this year. That's the only thing I control, and that's what's most important."

But the things most important to the Aggies faithful are winning and returning to the upper echelon of the South Division hierarchy with Texas and Oklahoma.

Past magic fails

Franchione, 56, hasn't been successful enough on either front. He took over a program that finished 6-6 five years ago, and the Aggies will have another 6-6 regular-season finish if they lose to the Longhorns this afternoon.

It has been a struggle few would have imagined with a coach who worked turnarounds at New Mexico, TCU and Alabama before heading to Aggieland. A&M has endured two losing seasons under Franchione after going through 20 consecutive non-losing years before his arrival.

Adding insult to injury is that the Aggies have struggled against Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech, going a combined 2-12 against them during Franchione's tenure.

The Aggies appeared to have turned a corner with last season's 12-7 win in Austin, but they followed that with a 45-10 loss to Cal in the Holiday Bowl.

Franchione, who is 31-28 at A&M, has a team stocked full of fifth-year seniors from his first recruiting class. But the Aggies appear to be no closer to a Big 12 championship and a BCS bowl than they were five years ago under R.C. Slocum.

"Last year they beat Texas, but that was kind of washed out when they went to the Holiday Bowl and got beat by Cal," said former A&M coach Jackie Sherrill, who won three straight Southwest Conference titles in the 1980s. "I'm sure Bill Byrne will tell you success to them is going to a BCS bowl and competing to win the conference and also at least fighting for the championship."

The closest the Aggies have come to that under Franchione was last season, when they lost back-to-back one-point games at home to Oklahoma and Nebraska.

After A&M got off to a 3-0 start this season, success was fleeting.

The Aggies went into November needing success against perhaps the toughest four-game slate in the country to have a shot at winning the Big 12 South and possibly saving Franchione's job. After going 0-3 so far, A&M apparently will come up short in both endeavors.

Tense times

Franchione's future has been in serious question since it was learned in late September that he and personal assistant
Mike McKenzie
had distributed a secret email newsletter to select supporters at a fee of $1,200 annually for three years, risking Franchione's $2 million-a-year salary and the $8.5 million the school would owe him in a buyout if it decided to fire him after this season.

The school and Franchione are said to be working out a buyout agreement that is expected to penalize him for violating terms of his contract.

Because of Franchione's actions, his players repeatedly have had to come to their coach's defense this season. They showed up en masse to support him during a weekly news conference and talked about how much more open Franchione has been with them this season.

McGee on coach's side

No one has been a more outspoken supporter than junior quarterback
Stephen McGee
.

"I think it's important to remember that Coach is a part of us, and we're all a part of each other," McGee said. "We would do it for any one individual on this team.

"If (linebacker) Mark Dodge were to be in the situation like Coach was, we would ride behind him, and we'd all show up in support of him."

To his credit, Franchione has tried to keep the distraction he created to a minimum, declining to talk much about his future while preparing his team.

"I think he has handled it as well as he could have with all the distractions and all the outside stuff he's had to face," said senior defensive end Chris Harrington. "I think he has done a pretty good job of trying to keep us focused to get ready for the next game."